About NACTOY

North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year Awards (NACTOY)

The North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year (NACTOY) awards honor excellence in innovation, design, safety, performance, technology, driver satisfaction and value. Founded in 1994 by Christopher Jensen, who also formed the first committee, the NACTOY awards are judged by approximately 50 professional automotive journalists from the United States and Canada who work for independent magazines, television, radio, newspapers and industry websites. They are administered by an organizing committee and are funded with dues paid by the jurors. There are no paid positions. The North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year awards are the longest-running awards not associated with a single, specific publication, website, radio or television station - a structure that produces a diverse base of jurors.

The award for Utility Vehicle of the Year was added in 2017 in recognition of the growing popularity of SUV-style vehicles. Passenger-oriented minivans are also eligible for Utility of the Year. Vehicles eligible for Truck of the Year include pickups of all sizes and light- and medium-duty commercial vans.

The North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year awards are announced each year at the North American International Auto Show (also referred to as the Detroit Auto Show) in Detroit, Michigan.

The process of selecting the Car, Utility and Truck of the Year starts in June by identifying vehicles eligible for the awards (vehicle models that are new or "substantially changed"). NACTOY Jurors evaluate dozens of new vehicles during three rounds of voting. Finalists for each category are announced at Automobility L.A., the press conferences that precede the Los Angeles Auto show.

The voting for finalists and winners is tallied by Deloitte & Touche and the winners of the North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year awards are announced in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, preceding the Detroit Auto show press conferences.

A large replica of the award is housed at Cobo Hall in Detroit, placed at its location with the Detroit Auto Dealers Association in 2017, and lists every winner in each category.

2019 marks the 25th year of the NACTOY awards.

NACTOY: The Process and the Votes

Voting for the North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year occurs in three stages, each of which focuses the jury on a smaller number of vehicles.

Early in the fall, the jurors consider all the new or substantially changed vehicles and pick approximately 10 eligible vehicles from each category (Car, Utility and Truck), for additional consideration in a test drive event.

Jurors attend launch programs for each eligible vehicle and then test drive them again during a three-day, back-to-back comparison held in October for direct side-by-side evaluations.

Early in December the jurors vote on those short-list vehicles, sending their ballots directly to Deloitte & Touche in Detroit.

That vote narrows the field to three cars, three utility vehicles and three trucks. Those finalists are disclosed at a luncheon held by the Automotive Press Association in Detroit.

The final round of voting, also tallied by Deloitte, determines one winner in each of the Car, Utility and Truck categories.

Navigate

About NACTOY

Since 1994, the North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year awards has honored excellence in innovation, design, safety, performance, technology, driver satisfaction and value in the automotive industry.